Month: March 2017

April begins tomorrow which means that the streaming services drop a minimum of eight titles each. When I was writing these up last year, the majority of Presto’s titles dropped on the first of the month. I got to make iZombie my top pick for the week, and I’ll see if I can include it again when Jason Dohring joins the show in Episode 8. I’ll need to at least watch the last three episodes of season 2 so I can remember what happened, other than Liv trying to get brains to Major while he was in jail, which involved Ken Marino as Major’s lawyer. Also there was the Rob Thomas joke that made sense to the show’s core audience and maybe a few Matchbox Twenty fans out there. Also I really love this poster.

She’s already dead.

Part 2 of Terrace House: Aloha State drops Tuesday night, so we’ll finally know why Naomi announced that she was leaving at the end of Episode 8. I’m enjoying Aloha State, but I think I prefer the version of the show that’s set in Japan, so I can look at all the food they’re eating.

In Netflix Originals, there’s 13 Reasons Why and Five Came Back. 13 Reasons Why has good reviews, so I’m looking forward to it. I had some misgivings when I read the synopsis, which I’ll hopefully write up in a full review of the show. Five Came Back is a docuseries based on a book by New York critic Mark Harris, who I follow on Twitter. He made a recent appearance on Gen Pop (Join the Patreon), and it sounds great. Meryl Streep is narrating, so she will probably be nominated for the Voice Over Emmy this year. I’m still annoyed Anthony Mendez hasn’t won it yet.

I haven’t seen any of Iron Fist. I wrote it up for the guide, but Netflix has a couple of original releases this week that I’m looking forward to watching. The first is the film Dierdra and LaneyRob a Train, starring Riverdale’s Ashleigh Murray as Dierdra. It’s about two girls who start robbing trains because they’re having financial trouble. I think their mum is sick, but don’t hold me to that (I was wrong, she goes to jail). The other is Samurai Gourmet, and I’ll quote from the press release:

Takeshi Kasumi has spent his entire life devoted to his job. Now a retired man, he finds himself with plenty of extra time on his hands. While on an afternoon walk, Kasumi discovers the joys of daytime drinking and the realisation that he is now free to eat and drink what he wants, when he wants. This awakens his inner persona – a wandering samurai living freely in Japan’s age of civil wars. Thus begins his search for blissfully delectable delights to satisfy his stomach and his soul.

How great does that sound? The episode titles are funny too.

Over on Stan, The Circus has returned for a second season, chronicling the Trump administration’s first 100 days. I only watched a handful of first season episodes, but they were excellent, and the people making this docu-series know exactly what they’re doing. I’m interested in Amazon Video’s German language show as well.

As far as weekly episodes go: Riverdale is off for a couple of weeks, Designated Survivor is somehow The West Wing meets 24 and it manages to work (there are issues, but it’s enjoyable), the season premiere of Underground was promising (and Astrid is there!), and Imposters is really fun. I’m waiting to see if it gets renewed, and I hope it does, but I have no idea what a second season would look like. I had an idea after Episode 5, but then Episode 6 made that unlikely. It’s nice to keep guessing!

In film, Ava DuVernay’s Selma drops on Netflix tomorrow, which was one of my favourite films two awards seasons ago. You should watch it.

March is a busy month for streaming. Choosing highlights was a bit tougher, although I planned to put The Bachelor in a week ago. This is my first season watching the original version, and it could be my last – I haven’t decided yet. Here are my thoughts: I got sick of Corinne, Vanessa is going to win, I’m really happy that Rachel is the next Bachelorette, and they should make ANOTHER season of Bachelorette after Bachelor in Paradise with Raven. Alexis was woefully underused, I would have preferred to watch her explain her fear of Nicholas Cage, ghosts and aliens than what was happening with Corinne most of the time. I don’t know whether or not I like the Women Tell All. I would have enjoyed it more if it was all about the friendships between the women, which really came through when Liz and Kristina were in the hot seat, and when Rachel joined them. Those women are so happy for her.

As far as subscription streaming services, I’m mostly watching the weekly episodes, namely Riverdale, Designated Survivor and Imposters (I haven’t watched the new Underground yet). There are films for the weekend, and I really just need to hit publish before I forget. Until next time!

I’ve made some changes to the streaming guide! Stan has been fast-tracking shows from the U.S. for two years now, and Netflix is doing the same with CW shows and Designated Survivor. SBS OnDemand and iview have been doing this with specific shows for a while now, namely Orphan Black and Doctor Who. As streaming grows in Australia, I’ve added more columns to my spreadsheet, and the list of titles gets longer most weeks. I’ve added a section for shows with weekly episodes. Designated Survivor and Underground both return next Thursday (I wanted to watch them yesterday because I’m thinking a week ahead when I write the guides), and Foxtel Play has replaced Presto, which means there are weekly episodes of Big Little Lies and Girls, as well as Foxtel originals including the local Real Housewives franchise. Plus Angie Tribeca, iZombie and Better Call Saul are returning in March, all of which I’m looking forward to to various degrees.

I don’t highlight everything I want to – Designated Survivor is a show that’s more fun than it has any right to be, and Greenleaf is an import from the Oprah Winfrey Network about a family that runs a Megachurch, which sounds like the perfect spiritual successor to Big Love (Bill Paxton, you are missed). Also The People Vs O.J. Simpson is on Netflix as of Monday – it’s a really good week and you can’t include everything. Until next week!

I almost forgot – Donald Glover’s Atlanta has finally come to Australia, and you can watch all of it now on SBS OnDemand. If you prefer the traditional method, two episodes air every Tuesday on SBS Viceland.